NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age

These NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age will become your comprehensive guide in easy learning and evaluating yourself. It will provide a lot of relevant content, making you well versed in variety of topics and able to easily recall your ideas. Chapter 4 Class 8 History will make your memory skills sharper and you can easily memorize more things. You develop the skills necessary to answer the tough questions that you’re faced with.

Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age Class 8 History NCERT Solutions

Let’s Recall

1. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The British described the tribal people as ______.
(b) The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is known as ________.
(c) The tribal chiefs got ________ titles in central India under the British land settlements.
(d) Tribals went to work in the ______ of Assam and the _______ in Bihar.

Solution

(a) wild and savage.
(b) broadcasting or scattering.
(c) land.
(d) tea plantations of Assam and the coal mines in Bihar.

2. State whether true or false:
(a) Jhum cultivators plough the land and sow seeds.
(b) Cocoons were bought from the Santhals and sold by the traders at five times the purchase price.
(c) Birsa urged his followers to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery.
(d) The British wanted to preserve the tribal way of life.

Solution

(a) False
(b) True
(c) True
(d) False

3. What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?

Solution

Shifting cultivators faced following problems under British rule :
• The lives of shifting cultivators were badly affected by the strictness of forest restrictions that existed under the British Empire.
• They were not permitted to enter “Reserved Forests” or engage in shifting agriculture activities. As a result, they were forced to move away to other locations in order to earn a living, making life more difficult for them.

4. How did the powers of tribal chiefs change under colonial rule?

Solution

Before the coming of the British, these tribal chiefs possessed a certain level of economic power and were in charge of administering and controlling their respective regions, which were no longer in their own. They were permitted to preserve their land titles over a cluster of villages and rented outlands, which they had previously acquired by fraud.

They lost a significant amount of administrative authority as a result of this procedure and were obliged to abide by legislation enacted by British officials. Furthermore, they were responsible for paying tribute to the British and disciplining the tribal tribes on behalf of the British. As a result, under colonial administration, they were deprived of the power they had previously held among their people and were unable to carry out their customary responsibilities.

5. What accounts for the anger of the tribals against the dikus?

Solution

The term “dikus” refers to outsiders or those who come from outside, such as moneylenders, traders, zamindars, contractors, and British, among other people and organisations. There are a variety of causes for the tribals’ hatred against the dikus, including:

• Originally, the tribes relied on shifting farming, but the British compelled them to adopt established agriculture and also introduced land settlements to compensate.

• Traders and moneylenders were pouring into the forest, enticed by the low prices of forest produce and seducing them into taking cash loans at excessive interest rates, among other things. In the beginning, innocent and destitute individuals fell prey to the schemes of these moneylenders and businessmen, and they stayed in debt for the rest of their lives. As a result, the traders and moneylenders were seen as malevolent foreigners by the tribals.

• Since tribal leaders have lost the authority they had previously held among their people, they have been unable to carry out their customary roles under British administration. Instead, they were required to pay homage to the British.

• As a result of the establishment of forest rules, the British forced them to leave their own lands. As a result, they were forced to become homeless and seek alternative means of subsistence.

6. What was Birsa’s vision of a golden age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to the people of the region?

Solution

Birsa spoke of a golden age, a satyug, an era of truth when the tribesmen lived a good life, built embankments, tapped natural springs, planted trees and orchards, and practiced cultivation to earn their living. He spoke of a day when tribal members would not kill one another and would conduct themselves in an honourable manner. His golden period was characterised by a reformed tribal culture in which vices like as alcoholism, uncleanliness, witchcraft and sorcery, as well as outside powers such as missionaries, Hindu landowners, moneylenders, traders, and Europeans, had no place. In fact, the tribespeople found this vision alluring since all of the vices and outside influences that Birsa discussed were considered by everybody to be the core causes of their sorrow and suffering.